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Mustang Week on a budget

I wanted to start this so we could post some tips on how to get the most out of your MW experience.

When you look at our events
Tuesday is Free

Wednesday MB Speedway $5 spectator fee & if you hang out you can watch the wheels of destruction show

Thursday morning you can check out the dyno shootout for free & check out tons of cars parked around the mall.
9am-12 hang out at Hooters before we pull out to drag night & that only cost $10 to spectator

The beach is free. spending a morning with your family at the beach is priceless! Pack sammiches and have a beach picnic, then head to the various MW activities. Top off the night with a drive down to the Ferris Wheel, pull up a sit on the sidewalk and watch the Mustangs go by. Count them, play license tag bingo, enjoy the cool beach breezes, make a lasting memory for your family. Meet new friends, gather with old ones, and wonder why it can't be like this every week! Then count down the next 51 weeks until the next "best week of the year"...

*As soon as you get into town, get one of those Monster coupon books and whatever other ones they have printed out. Usually you get the typical $1-5 off here and there, and other little freebies from souvenir shops. Sometimes though, you luck up and find some really good deals to hole-in-the-wall places that turn out being really good.
*Biggest thing I try to remind myself and my group every year is this: Just because you're in a big city doesn't mean you have to eat out EVERY meal. Like the guy above said, pack sandwiches or something you can eat easily and go spend an afternoon on the beach or by the pool. Or if you eat in the hotel, do burgers or hot dogs so you can feed your small crowd for cheap.
*While cruising Ocean Blvd and wherever else is fun and cool, save your gas for one or two nights and walk down the strip instead. You'll see a ton of cars that you'd otherwise miss (and you see some KILLER rides there), get to see what MB has to offer that you might otherwise miss by simply driving by, and if you have the right camera... you have the opportunity for amazing photo ops. Especially if you hit the skywheel.
*If you need to go across the city, save your gas and avoid stop-and-go traffic on Bus. 17. Use Grissom Pkwy, SC 22, and SC 31 to get around and bypass all the hassle.
*If you get there and realize you forgot a towel, swimsuit, trunks, or some other beach accessory, avoid walmart and other normal retailers. Hit the Eagles/Pacific/Whales or whatever other of those "novelty" shops that are every 1/2 mile down the road. Their stuff usually isn't the best quality, but its dirt cheap and gets you through the vacation.

This is a topic that Mike and I talk about all the time. Every year we see people fall into the same "trap" when it comes to being on vacation. We are also guilty of the same thing. There is a way to make things affordable. I'm going to have two cars at the beach for the entire week this year, so I've got to find a way to save for gas in the extra vehicle. Where we stay breakfast isn't offered. Instead of eating out we will have something cheap in our room for breakfast like PopTarts, etc. For lunches this year I plan to pack sandwiches. That will save some $ plus it will keep me away from the greasy fast food (that I love).

The other thing that we are doing this year we are actually starting this next month. We are prone to eat out way too much at home on weekends. We plan to skip one night eating out and each on the cheap at home each weekend. We will then put $20 that we would have saved eating out into an envelope to go towards gas/food for MW. If I could put at least put $40/month in the envelope, that would be $120 before July hits. That's not a lot, but every little bit helps.

While in Myrtle, you have need to "live a little" but that doesn't mean eating out at every meal.

Like Mike said, if you haven't made reservations yet, you can choose something off the beach (away from Ocean Blvd) and save quite a bit right there. It also helps if you share a room with someone.

There's tons of ways to cut costs, we are interested in hearing your ideas.

You can camp for about half the price of a night in a motel. Myrtle Beach State Park and the Myrtle Beach KOA both have good rates but I'd book early. There are many other private campgrounds that are a little more per night but offer great amenities.

Mustang Week is a money saver in itself for the amount of events you can participate in for the price.
We always make a trip to Wal Mart for water, drinks, snacks, and lunch items, this saves a lot over vending machines for the week.
We may go out for a nicer meal two or three times for the week, sometimes just ordering a pizza to the room after a day of Mustang fun is a good meal.
We also take advantage of the great beach breeze weather and walk to a lot of places when we do go out, saves a little gas, and keeps the Mustang clean lol.
I start saving a little money back every year for my MW fund knowing it will be worth the pinch in July.

Dollar General stores. Skip the lines at the grocery store, usually you can always get in and out at one of several in Myrtle Beach. Plus I've found if I go to the grocery store I spend too much money on stuff I don't need or end up not eating. If you keep it simple at the dollar general you can still get everything you need, usually cheaper, without all the temptations of a big store for impulse buys you don't need.

Just for laughs I just did a Priceline search for Myrtle Beach for the week of Mustang Week. A "value" motel located on US 501 just past the MB Speedway (Wednesday's venue) is showing $41/night. Now this is a "budget" motel and you get what you pay for, but during Mustang Week some folks really only need place to sleep/shower. Doing a quick search on Kayak I was able to find 3 beachfront motels in the $70-$80/night. If you were only going to be there a couple nights, that would great rates for the area.

My suggestion for getting a low rate is to act NOW before all that is left is higher-rate rooms.

PBJ's all week long! I only cruise Ocean on Friday night and I'm on my bike training most of the week. So workout drinks and energy bars are the norm for my meals. I'm trying out the Hamptons instead of the Resort this year, saved $700. Lots of souvenirs (i.e. parts), I can get this year.

like someone said above, the Mustang Week events aren't expensive at all. What gets you is hotel and eating out alot.

We don't mind spending money on eating out; that's what we enjoy about traveling around. But one awesome way to save A TON of money is to get a group of friends and rent a house down in Garden City or Surfside. We've done that 3 times, and each time the price was $200-$250 PER PERSON FOR 7 DAYS. Good luck finding a hotel that cheap for even 5 days. I've always wanted to stay at Holiday Sands South and have that experience, but if you're trying to do it on a budget, renting a house is the way to go.

There's one particular house we've stayed at twice... we had around 8 or 9 people each time, and it was about $200 per person. Another year, we had 16 people (yes 16 lol) in a huge 2-story house with our own private pool and an elevator; it was only $250 per person. The house and parking were so spacious that we were not in each other's way at all, and it is still considered one of our best years looking back.

I just did another Kayak search and found a half-dozen motels (on or near the beach) for under $80/night for the week. I found one place off the beach for $42/night. Now, you get what you pay for, but as long as it's clean and has a working bathroom...

Tip of the day.... Dollar Tree. I spent a bit of time during my lunch today roaming around the Dollar Tree across the street from my office. Nothing in the store is over $1. You would be really surprised what you find in Dollar Tree for a vacation, especially snacks, sodas, etc. They have several locations in/around Myrtle Beach. I know there's one near Broadway and one across the street from MB Mall.

Like tonight before I headed out to the cruise in I put some drinks in a small cooler & a few snacks. This can save a ton.

I'm the worlds worst for not doing this. You know as many car shows as I go to you'd think I'd be prepared. But I have a tent that rarely gets taken, I do good to remember my chairs, let alone a cooler.

BUT I crammed by big high dollar survive in the sahara cooler in the trunk of my Mustang and it worked out AWESOME at the 50th. I grabbed breakfast out on Friday morning and that was it except for one meal I really didn't need to eat inside the track. Loaf of bread, jumbo bag of chips, sammich meat, pack of cheese, a few sweets and loads of drinks and I was set. I easily saved 100 dollars the two days I was in Charlotte. Gonna try and do similar at the power tour and for sure at Mustang Week.